ML20216G427

the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel

ML20216G427
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/19/1998
From:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
To:
References
NUREG-BR-0249, NUREG-BR-249, NUDOCS 9803190405
Download: ML20216G427 (6)

Text

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THE ATOMIC ._.

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, k'-e7 THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD 1ANEL

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l 7XQ > ' y; r h'ough the Atomic Energy Act, Congress mde it possible toi.

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the public to get a full and fair hearing on civilian nuclear mat-

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ters. Individuals who are directly afTected by any licensing i 3

j action involving a facility producing or utilizing nuclear rnaterials may +

participate in a formal hearing, on the record, before independent judges on the Atomic Safety and Licensing floard Panel (ASLBP or Panel).

Hearings routinely involve difficult interrelated questions, often at the cuidng edge of science and technology, confronting highly l

' technical and scientific theories, opinions, and research findings. In addition, NRC hearings air local cor,cerns about the consequences of l

severe accidents and continue the national debate over the role nuclear power should play in meeting the nation's energy needs.

Frequently, in deciding whether a license, permit, amendment, j or extension should be granted to a particular applicant, the Panel

) members must be more than mere umpires. If appropriate, they are i .. .

authorized to go beyond the issues the parties place before them in l  ;

order to identify, explore, and resolve significant questions involving l

threats to the public health and safety that come to a board's attention during the proceedings.

Contested hearings at the NRC are conducted either by three L judges or by a single administrative judge drawn from the Panel.

Hearings before these judges are among the most compic~ mthy, and controversial administrative proceedings conducted by 11 e Federal

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government. j The Panel considers issues arising out of the operation of the nation's more than 100 nuclear power plants and out of programs l related to approximately 6,000 nuclear materials licensees. Hearings '

have shified away from the large nuclear power plant operating licenses and construction permits and instead focus on license extensions, site e decontamination, enforcement actions, and reactor and materials license amendments. I Future proceedings are likely to involve plant life extensions and licensing of high-level and low-level radioactive waste repositories.

The prnceeding to license a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in particular, will involve novel and complex scien-tific issues.

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7 , Types of Hearings n 4' , , J The NRC's regulations p, ovide the opportunity for numerous hearings '

l that include the following types:

A N Tif R U s T P R o C E E o IN c s . The licensing of a nuclear reactor may be contested on antitrust grounds ifits operation is inconsistent with the antitrust laws.

J c o m mis s i o n.o n o a n s o e m o c e s oin c s. Hearinp can be conduct-l ed for any nuclear-related matter that the NRC Commission directs.

For example, although hearings are not required for rulemaking, the NRC's regulations allow for a hearing opportunity to contest proposed rules that would certify designs for new reacron.

, if E N F o R C E m 8 N T P R o C E E oiN c s. Hearings are available to individu-j als, employees, licensees, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors to 3

contest penalties such as monetary fmes, facility shutdown, or license

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revocation for infractions of NRC regulations, j r,';

uc:wsa ameuoma=ts. Affected parties may challenge proposed license amendments that seek to change the operating functions or the i physical configuration of nuclear reactors if public health and safery

, warrants, hearings will be required before the license amendment is  :

authorized. ^

m av s niat s uca w s a s. Hearings may be conduered to contest NRC actions licensing the commercial use of nuclear materials. These licenses involve manufacturing, treatment, disposal, or storage of radioactive materials and their commercial use in fields such as nuclear

o medicine, well-logging, and radiography.

erasawneo aavveas. Hearings are also available for employee grievances or agency personnel actions, differing professional opinions, and appeals from sanctions for fraudulent claims.

aeacvoe uc:asiuc. The Atomic Energy Act requires that a hear-ing be held on every application for a license to build and operate a nuclear faciliry that produces electric power. The combined construc-tion perrnit and operating license hearing provides an opportuniry for affected individuals and organizations to raise health, safety, and antitrust issues. Separate hearings may be held on applications for construction permits or for operating licenses for a nuclear power plant or related facility if a combined license is not requested.

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' How Does the Public Participate?

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, The public can participate in NRC hearings by -

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1 submitting written statements for consideration:

2 making oral presentations at hearings; or 3 becoming "intervenors" in hearings with full participatory rights as parties, including cmss-examination of other participants. Parties to NRC hearings may appeal adverse Commission decisions to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and uhimately to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Formality of Hearings Hearings may be either formal or informal. The Panel's formal pro-ceedings are spelled out in the Administrative Procedure Act and the Commission's own rules of practice. Formal proceedings employ the P traditional procedures used in non-jury Federal court cases, including i pretrial discovery between the parties and formal trial procedures at the

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bearing. Formal procedures are used in reactor licensing cases and in enforcement proceedings brought by the agency against irdividuals j and licensees.

Informal hearing procedures are generally followed in matters

[ affecting one of the NRC's materials licensees. While the deliberative l process for judges remains the same under either type of hearing, J informal hearings grant the parties significantly fewer procedural rights j for developing the record upon which decisions must be based. The o informal hearings use a single presiding omcer (as opposed to a three-

judge licensing board), written submittals by the parties instead of a ,

4 hearing on the record, and, rarely, oral presentations by :he parties who may be questioned by the presiding omccr. Discovery by the parties or cross-examination at trial are not permitted.

High-Level Waste The Panel will make the initial decision in a formal hearing on )

whether the Department of Energv's (DOE's) high-level waste reposi- )

tory at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, satisfies apphcable safety and envi- l ronmental requirements before granting DOE a license to operate it.

I I The Panel has also helped develop procedural rules and pro-l vides legal and technical suppor: for the electronic document manage-ment system for Ikensing the facility. Within the next few years, the Panel will adjudicate discovery disputes on millions of pages of docu- I ments which will be distributed electronically to all parties and participants.

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Other Panel Responsibilities l l ,,

S^ 4 o vis o a T o P e nio N s. The Panel monitors all pioposed rules, final -

i rules,and legislation affecting the NRC's hearing process and advises l

the Commission when potential problems exist. The Panel may com-j ment on rules and regulations proposed by the N1(C's OfTice of the i General Counsel.

! :LecTaoaic wsaneac oocn T. In 1993, the Panel joined with

! other NRC offices to constilidaie and computerize the NRC's adjudi-catory dockets. The NRC was chosen as the pilot Federal agency to develop methods of electronic document filing in administrative hearings.

l , atTe nwafive oisruf m e s o t uTio n. Panel members are trained l in Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques. This resource is avail-abic to the agency for mediation and facilitation services.

Manacanc count n e r o n Tim e s a m vic e s . The Panci manages NRC court reporting services for itself and the rest of NRC, covering proceedings, meetings, depositions, public hearings, oral arguments, and investigative interviews held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Litigation Technology ]

l TWo WMiTE FLtNT NORTH Mf ARiNo Room in July 1994, the NitC opened a new hearing room, accommodating 60 people, in its Two White Flint North building in Rockville,

!, Maryland. The "well of the court" has a circular design to afford all hearing participants an unobstructed view. l iNTt cR aT E o TE CHNoLoc4E ss THE PAPE RLiss courtroom

, 'lo handle large, complex proceedings efficiently, the Panel has added a state-of-the-art audio, video, and computer technology, including a local area network and a speakerphone system that permit, conference calls between the p.mel and parties to the proceeding at distant loca-tions. Participani4 can also locate and virE electronic text and images of exhibits and record materials, perform s'ea7cTisIm the internet, and access outside library materials. The paperless courtroom is capable of l accessing the largest cases and legal databases instantaneously. Video l capabilities include a voice- activated video tape court reporting system with cameras and monitors and a videoconferencing system for remote I

, parties and witnesses. A video record is available immediately after the day's restimony.

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..I stscreonic m ine The Panel is testing a model for electronic Aling in adminisnative pro-ccedings. The model will make it possible for the parties' comptitees to send documents instantly to each other and the NRC regardless of their software and hardware. Widely used in many industries like banking. trucking, and retail, this system could save considerable time and resources and could establish a standard for all government agencies.

Research o

i Judges can access the full text and images of documents from their E $ computers while simultaneously conducting legal research through i

$ g external systems such as LEXIS and WESTLAW. In addition, the u m l$ shared local area network allhws members of the board to access docu.

'g g ments and exchange information with each other.

All significant Panel decisions are published in the "NRC i

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issuances' law books, along with other Commission decisionsldating back to 1956, and are available in the NRC's Public Document Room,

' - at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., telephone 202-634-3273; ,l e-mail: pdr@nrc. gov Recent decisions can be accessed on NRC's home page, at

,$ http://www.ntc. gov /NRC/ASLBP/homepage.html

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• ~Z O Panel Members

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eze2: The Paners judges are lawyers, medical doctors, physicists, engineers, o mwm NMO,34 and environmental scientists. They are employees of the NRC whose "D*N2 decisions are bubject to C,ommission review, but the Adm. . .

imstrative Procedure Act grants them independence from the Commission.

y Thus, the ex parte and separation of functions rules dictate char the l

licensing panel and its members will always remain "at arms length

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' avoid the appearance of a con 0ict ofinterest.

For a current list of judges, see the Paners home page or Appendix 2 of the NRC Annual Report, or call 301-415 7450.

f ,. ~.s\ U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Cammission i Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

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